This invention relates to air conditioning systems utilizing liquid desiccants for dehumidifying air and more specifically to an air conditioning system providing improved regeneration of liquid desiccants.
Devices that use hygroscopic liquids such as lithium chloride (LiCl) or calcium chloride (CaCl.sub.2) solutions to dehumidify air have been known for many years. However, the use of these systems has been limited to specialized applications due to the problem of regenerating the liquid desiccant. Regeneration usually requires heating the desiccant to drive off the excess moisture or contacting the desiccant with a hot gas which absorbs the excess moisture. Generally, air regenerators are used to regenerate the desiccant. These regenerators are costly to run especially where waste heat is not available, as in residential applications. Boiler-type regenerators may also be expensive, requiring large amounts of corrosion-resistant metals. If pressurized boilers are employed to provide high efficiency, costly components are needed and issues of safety become more complex.